He was the bravest of the brave. At the age of 80 years, he led from the front during India’s first war of independence in 1857 and along with his small band of loyal soldiers drove away the British East India Company from several areas of western and central Bihar along with eastern Uttar Pradesh.
An expert in guerilla warfare, Babu Veer Kunwar Singh not only fought and liberated a vast area of the country from foreign rule, but also wrote his name into the history books. His palace which was fortified to take on the might of the better trained and equipped soldiers of the British East India Company stands as a mute testimony to his valour at his native place Jagdishpur in Bhojpur district of Bihar.
But sadly more than 150 years after he attained martyrdom and 68 years after India attained independence from foreign rule, Kunwar Singh’s small fort continues to face the apathy and neglect of both the Centre as well as Bihar government. The freedom fighter ignites pride, adorns the history books and has become a legend for his bravery in the face of heavy odds but his memorial is a place where local fairs are organised, and stray dogs and cattle roam.
Even in an election season, there is no mention by any major party of renovating the fort and making it into a bigger and national level tourist attraction at par with those of other freedom fighters associated with the 1857 war of independence. Except for an independent candidate Dilip Verma, who has been fighting for better facilities, development of the fort and Jagdishpur as a major tourist destination, no candidate considers it an issue of great political significance.
“The archaeological department is not doing its work in Jagdishpur. Corrupt officers, politicians and contractors siphon off the money sent by the state government. Look at Jhansi. It is a district, the fort is well maintained and is a big tourist attraction. The legacy of Rani of Jhansi Laxmibai is well preserved. But Jagdishpur and Kunwar Singh are ignored,” says Verma about the fort which is accessed through a narrow lane passing through Sadar Bazar area of the town.
Adding that politics around Kunwar Singh has meant that he is now projected as just a leader of the Rajput community and not entire Bihar, Verma claims no elected representative has worked for the betterment of Jagdishpur and places associated with the freedom fighter.
Verma is also the convener of Jagdishpur Jan Vikas Parishad which was formed on October 19, 2013 and has launched several agitations to draw government’s attention towards the poor state of Kunwar Singh’s memorial. But he claims that his efforts are yet to bear any fruit.
Located at a distance of nearly 30 kms from Arrah, the headquarters of Bhojpur district under which Jagdishpur is a sub-division, the fort of Kunwar Singh has just two caretakers – one is a sweeper Ram Babu and the other is a guard Dirgha. There is no employee to give a guided tour of the museum which has one large hall and four major rooms. In fact Ram Babu takes the tourists, who hardly number more than 25-30 in a day around the museum and explains them its significance.
Ram Babu joined in 1976 and become a permanent employee in 1983. He says the museum was established in 1972 and since then has only seen a token improvement. The hall has a bust of Kunwar Singh, a few paintings depicting the fight between Indian and British soldiers, some documents describing his life and struggle for independence.
“I want a bigger museum should be built just like it is in Patna,” says Ram Babu adding that the government must pay more attention to preserve Kunwar Singh’s legacy. He has seen the area undergo a major transformation in the almost 40 years that he was been employed with the fort and says that when he joined the entire area was a jungle. “April 23 when Kunwar Singh defeated the British East India Army is celebrated in a major way and several ministers and high ranking officials come to the fort. But there is no enthusiasm and effort to develop the area,” he says.
Jagdishpur votes in the third phase of Bihar Assembly elections on October 28. The major parties in the fray are Bharatiya Janata Party ally Rashtriya Lok Samata Party and Mahagathbandhan’s Rashtriya Janata Dal. But neither RLSP candidate Rakesh Raushan nor RJD nominee Ram Vishun Singh have shown any inclination in taking up the cause of Kunwar Singh’s legacy.
It also reflects on the poor state of politics in Bihar where winning an elections means getting the caste combination right and is not about showing the glorious history and further development of the area.
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